she tasted the porridge of the Great, Huge Bear, and that was
too hot for her; and she said a bad word about that. And then she tasted
the porridge of the Middle Bear, and that was too cold for her; and she
said a bad word about that too. And then she went to the porridge of the
Little, Small, Wee Bear, and tasted that; and that was neither too hot
nor too cold, but just right; and she liked it so well that she ate it
all up. But the naughty old Woman said a bad word about the little
porridge-pot because it did not hold enough for her.

Then the little old Woman sat down in the chair of the Great, Huge Bear,
and that was too hard for her. And then she sat down in the chair of the
Middle Bear, and that was too soft for her. And then she sat down in the
chair of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, and that was neither too hard nor
too soft, but just right. So she seated herself in it, and there she sat
till the bottom of the chair came out, and down she came, plump upon the
ground. And the naughty old Woman said a wicked word about that too.

Then the little old Woman went upstairs into the bed-chamber in which
the three Bears slept. And first she lay down upon the bed of the Great,
Huge Bear; but that was too high at the head for her. And next she lay
down upon the bed of the Middle Bear, and that was too high at the foot
for her. And then she lay down upon the bed of the Little, Small, Wee
Bear, and that was neither too high at the head nor at the foot, but
just right. So she covered herself up comfortably and lay there till she
fell fast asleep.

By this time the Three Bears thought their porridge would be cool
enough, so they came home to breakfast. Now the little old Woman had
left the spoon of the Great, Huge Bear standing in his porridge.

"~SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE!~" said the Great, Huge Bear, in his
great, rough, gruff voice. And when the Middle Bear looked at his, he
saw that the spoon was standing in it too. They were wooden spoons; if
they had been silver ones, the naughty old Woman would have put them in
her pocket.

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE!" said the Middle Bear, in his middle
voice.

Then the Little, Small, Wee Bear looked at his, and there was the spoon
in the porridge-pot, but the porridge was all gone.

"+SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE, AND HAS EATEN IT ALL UP!+" said the
Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.

Upon this the Three Bears, seeing that some one had e